I have been in Texas for just over a month now. That's long enough to tell a hundred stories, and I still have hundreds more to tell! I have seen the Lord provide just what we needed when we needed it more times than I can count, whether it be a child knocking on our door with a plate of food after a long day with nothing to eat, a friendly voice calling out to us offering her house for us to stay in when passing through a place where we knew no one, or a kind word of encouragement during a hard day. The Lord is indeed a good Father. Whenever we showed up not knowing where to go or who to talk to, He always took us to the right place.

Have a bowl of masato!

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To those of you who stood in the gap for us in prayer, thank you. I am proud to have served with you. Please continue praying for those who are still in the jungle, pressing on in the work. José and Enoc recently returned from a successful trip on the Unini River. At the end of the trip, the boys were forced to leave by a group that has always opposed outsiders entering Cascada. They say that leaving was so hard, that they do not want to go back.
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They were able to stay in Cascada for the duration of their trip, however, which is a huge step forward, as well as tell stories there, and baptize four new believers! One of these, a young single mother from Cascada named Dulce, has since faced persecution from her family, none of whom are believers. Her sister, Gaby, has also shown interest in the stories Jose and Enoc told, but their parents refuse to allow her to be baptized. Please remember these two young women in your prayers.

Gaby holding Dulce's son while her mother and sister make a traditional treat

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Please also remember Lapiz from Paiche Playa. He is now alone there with no other believers to encourage him and hold him accountable or help him witness to his neighbors. He is a recovering alcoholic in a place where fermented beverages are the only ones available. We are his only support, if we pray for him.

Lapiz

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Finally, a young man from Pucallpa who recently trained with us there, Nick, was in trouble with the law before he surrendered his life to Jesus just a few years ago. He has been brought back to court to face charges for which he had already been tried. He was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Obviously, his fiancee is devastated. Please pray for his release, his fiancee and her young boy, his physical needs while in prison (in Peru, a prisoner may have to pay for basic things), and that he would be a witness for the Lord while serving his time. Already, he has told several stories and has found a group of other believers.

Nick

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These are only a few prayer needs that remain in the places where I worked. If you would like to know more, e-mail me, call me, or ask in person. I would be glad to tell you more. As for me, I plan to attend seminary starting in January and look forward to seeing where the Lord takes me next!
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--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear.
Colossians 4:3-4

From Iquitos with Love

The apostle Paul said, "If I have not love, I am nothing." To those of you who have followed my work here and stood in the gap for us in prayer, I send my heartfelt thanks and brotherly love.
The Tigre trip wrapped up, Levi and I are in Iquitos looking for a site for the xtreme training that will take place here in May. The trip was mostly uneventful; we spent many days with absolutely nothing to do. We returned to Paiche Playa, where we stayed for the duration of the trip, and tried to pick up where we left off in our story track.
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For the first two weeks, we got nowhere. We offered repeatedly to tell stories to anyone willing to listen, but no one volunteered. It seemed to us that every time the people got together, they got drunk. The group we heard about that met together to pray and read the Bible did not exist, and the believer, Lapíz, who had fallen but once again returned to the faith, seemed once again to be on a down-hill slide.

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Lapíz and I working in the field

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Things began to turn around, however, during our third week when Lapíz asked us if we could meet together several times a day to pray for his community. We readily agreed, and from that day until just before we left, we met twice a day to pray and encourage one another. We quickly realized that Lapíz, who is not Quichua but has lived among them for many years, had valuable information about their culture that would help us find the best time to tell stories.
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The first evening we met, Lapíz had the idea of teaching the stories when they drink their concho, which is hot masato left over from the minga the day before (masato is a fermented drink made from cassava (yucca) which is always provided at a minga, a minga is a communal work held by a member of the community who provides the workers with plenty of masato and sometimes food). He also recommended that to get their attention, I bring the violin to the gathering that we had brought. The people had never seen a violin before, and always asked me to play. The next morning, we tried his idea, and it worked like a charm.
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I nearly lost a finger catching this guy.

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From that day on, we never missed a morning when they served concho. Interest gradually, began to fade once again, until a "curandero," which means healer, came down from a community up-river and stayed a week. We had met him before, he claims he was a Pentecostal pastor who fell into sin and now practices white magic to cure people in exchange for money, liquor, transportation, or whatever else he might need. He drank heavily inspiring the people to do likewise, told vulgar stories, and of course, "cured" people. While he was there, we found it almost impossible to continue our work.
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We did plant the seed, however, and Lapíz tells everyone how important it is that they give their lives to Jesus every chance he gets. Please continue to pray for Lapíz and the people of Paiche Playa.
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--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear.
Colossians 4:3-4

Changes

Ever since a conversation I had with Jesús (the Chayahuita, not the Son of God) in February, I prayed that God would send Enoc, one of the Chayahuita who passed through our training, to join the team and take my place as Jose's partner. I knew the job was perfect for him. So, when we walked in the door of the house for the first time after our trip, I was overjoyed to find Enoc sitting on the couch. He had only come to help out with the training, but after some discussion we agreed that he should take my place.

Levi, Jose
Enoc, Javier

Levi, who has taken over the work on the Tigre, still needed a partner for his next trip, and since I have no other committments, I will join him. The four of us will teach the trainees for a week starting Thursday, and then head out for our respective assignments. We still have not worked out the details of our next trip, so I will post more information before we leave.

By the way, I have added a new feature to the blog. If you look to the left of the posts section, you will see lists of prayer requests and praises. I will update these lists whenever possible.
--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear.
Colossians 4:3-4

Knocking Down Barriers

So, we came back early. They did not run us out, however, and health had almost nothing to do with it. After reevaluating our situation, we decided it would be best to come back to Pucallpa so that José could renew his visa. It also seemed to be in the best interest of the work.
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That being said, this trip was hands down the hardest that I have yet taken. We told no stories, worked our hands raw (see picture), and still had excessive free time with nothing to do. We watched all of our friends drink themselves into a stupor during a festival that is popular in the jungle. I set a new personal record for making a fool of myself at other people's expense; though, by far the hardest part of the trip was the intense feelings of isolation. In spite of these difficulties, we did see the work advance, though slowly, and the Lord grew me more than ever before.
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In Cascada, after so many months visiting and working with the people there, they only recently have begun to realize that we are not like any of the other outsiders who have passed through and are starting to listen to us when we explain why. We told them many times before that our interests are to teach them the stories of the Bible in Asheninca so that they can know God and have an Asheninca church, but they did not listen. Now they have seen it with their own eyes. Mistrust and cultural stereotypes are the most difficult barriers between us and the people on this river. By working alongside them and letting them get to know us, we are slowly winning their confidence and, therefore, felt that the time has arrived to ask permission to enter once again. These advances encouraged us.
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All of the groups to which we had told stories, however, fell apart. The old man in Misión went to Atalaya for medical treatment, and the other two groups lost half their members to travel while the other half put us off week after week. We know that God works through a process and that "one sows and another reaps," so we did not worry. In this Jose and I were of the same mind. In just about everything else, though, we are so different that we only related to one another with much difficulty.
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With all of the things in life in which I find satisfaction taken away, and no one to relate to, I began to dispair. I have always found things that I really enjoy in each place that I have been. It is one of my keys to surviving in places far from home. This time, however, I found nothing and suffered. The last day, the Lord showed me why. I have always looked for my satisfaction and joy in whatever I could find: food, companionship, work, sports, or various forms of entertainment, but not in Him. In Him, I found peace, my purpose in life, and my source of guidance and wisdom, but not joy. I did not realize that fact until He stripped all of those insufficient sources of satisfaction away.
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I have been taught from a very early age to "rejoice in the Lord always" without really understanding how or why it is so important, so I ignored it. I wondered at how it would be possible to "rejoice in our sufferings," and always failed in my attempts to do so. Through these difficulties, however, the Lord taught me its importance, and began to teach me what it means to rejoice in Him. He said "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." If we truly rejoice in Him and He will never leave us, then our joy is never far away, nor out of reach.
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Many of you heard of our struggles, and committed to pray for us. I want you all to know that in spite of the difficulty, I knew you all were praying for me. I could see the effects in everything I said and did. I know my limits, and I passed them long ago. Words of encouragement and wisdom came out of my mouth that I cannot take credit for. Those of you who know me well, know that I say very little without having thought it out in advance, but on several occasions I gave voice to thoughts that had never before entered my head and then afterwards learned from them. Perhaps that is normal, but for me it is extraordinary.
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Please continue to pray for the Asheninca in Cascada, in Misión, and the other communities upriver. We knocked down a lot of barriers, but still have a long way to go. Also, thank God for the blessings He has provided for us through the people in Diamante Azul. They recieved us into their community and their homes and gave us everything we needed because we came in the name of the Lord. Pray that the Lord would bless them and open their eyes to see Him.

Sowing Seeds

--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear.
Colossians 4:3-4

Last Trip

José and I are once again in Atalaya for what should be my last and longest trip. God willing, we will leave tomorrow and not return until early to late October. Our mission is still the same: to reach the Asheninca of the upper Unini River in their own dialect. We will continue working on language and developing relationships hoping to be welcomed into a community up river where there is no access to the Gospel. Meanwhile, we hope to continue our storying with the large family in Diamante Azul with which we began on our last trip.

Please Continue to Pray:

• That God will send us someone to introduce us in one or more of the communities up-river.
• That as we will once again be dependent on the people to provide our food and shelter, God would provide.
• That God would provide for our spiritual needs as well.
• And finally, that we would proclaim the Word boldy!

Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed having my parents come and visit. For more pictures of their trip, see my pictures website.

--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear.
Colossians 4:3-4

The Ringing in My Ears

As we rode in a crowded little car between two jungle towns, a familiar sound, made foreign by the time that had passed since I last heard it, broke the monotony of the trip. I honestly did not believe my ears, but I quickly looked around to see if I could find some clue as the source of that strangely familiar electronic chirping. "Is that ..." I thought, "a cellphone!?" It couldn't be. As the driver reached down and and looked at the little device I once thought so necessary, I slowly realized that I had not heard one all year. For that matter, the car we were riding in was the first I had seen in two and a half months. I still had not tasted beef or pork and was another week away from a face to face conversation in English since leaving for this last trip. Such is life in the jungle.

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Praise God (and thanks for your prayers!):

• We never heard anything else about the rumor.
• The infection in my leg disappeared almost overnight.
• We continued telling stories to our two groups and added a third in Cascada. All three got to at least the story of Abraham and Isaac.

We spent the remainder of our time in Diamante Azul much as we had spent the first part: weeding crops, clearing new fields, and planting corn and beans. We also did a little fishing (I actually speared one before falling out of the canoe!) and visiting soccer tournaments once in a while. José and I get along great, which is surprising considering that it would be hard to put together a pair of personalities more opposite than ours.

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We arrived in Lima last Saturday, and have enjoyed all the comforts of a truly modern, if ugly, city. José left this morning with Leví, another Ecuadorian, to renew their visas, while I anxiously await the arrival of my parents tomorrow! We'll take a couple of weeks of vacation to see Peru: costa, sierra, and selva. Afterwards, I´ll meet with Joe and José in Pucallpa to discuss our next trip.

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I'll have more info to post then, and hopefully new pictures. It seems that my camera finally gave up the battle against the very humid and sandy atmosphere here, and its cable is in Pucallpa anyway.

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¡Dios les bendiga!

--At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear.
Colossians 4:3-4

Macaw Worm and Invitations

José and I are in Atalaya for the night so that I can have an infection in my leg treated that was caused by a macaw worm. "What on earth is a macaw worm?" you might ask. I'm not really sure myself, except to say that it was about half an inch long and that they say it comes from a mosquito bite. Anyway, it seems to be healing fine.
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The good news is that we have been telling stories to a family in Diamante Azul every Sunday and another one in Misión Unini on Saturdays! Since I could not walk well because of the infection in my leg, José went to Misión alone this weekend where two women from an Asheninca community upriver called Shenontiari came to hear the story. Afterwards, they invited us to go to their community next week to tell another one! He also began telling stories to several different groups in Cascada and was invited to play soccer for Corintoni in a tournament in one of the other communities. After all this time, we are finally seeing the door crack open!
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A friend of ours who has a wife from Corintoni confided to José that a rumor is spreading in Corintoni that we are conspiring with our friend Luis Cushi Mariano to kill a woman with a knife. We are not sure when this rumor started or how, but if it was recently, it could cause us major problems upriver.
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Please intercede for us that:

• This rumor would amount to nothing.
• This infection would heal rapidly so that I can go with José to fulfill these invitations.
• God would fill our mouths with praises for him and words of wisdom and love for the people.

Praise God for our invitations!

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Sorry, no pictures to post yet. I'm sure that most of you would just as soon pass on any pictures related to the worm, anyhow.

Rejected

Less than half an hour after speaking with the President of the indigenous ourganization representing Corintoni, the leader of the community himself arrived with several others from Corintoni to tell him that the people had had a meeting after inviting us to come back and decided that they did not want us to come. Though we are not surprised at the chnage of heart, it nonetheless hurts to look these people in the eye and know that they have rejected us, not because I personally feel rejected, but because in rejecting us as the royal ambassadors of the only living God, they have rejected their only means of salvation. Please continue to pray for these people with me, that they would once again have a change of heart.

In the meantime Jose and I are in the process of asking permission to return to Cascada where we hope to meet more Asheninca and hopefully visit their communities.

From Arequipa to Atalaya to the Asheninca

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Jose and me. By the time we finally had an opportunity to speak with the leader of Cascada, it was not worth the time to move. We found ways to do every thing we needed to from the abandoned house in Diamante Azul. After the first week or so, the Lord provided at least one meal a day everyday, which I am convinced is due in large part to your prayers. This trip is truly a testimony of God's provision and the power of prayer!
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When we arrived we did not know anybody in this area, which is known for not welcoming outsiders. Few people would even greet us as we passed by, and some even went out of their way to make us feel unwelcome. After three weeks, however, we had made many friends and nearly everybody would not greet us with a smile. We also learned many words and phrases in Asheninca, and the people in Cascada and Diamante Azul are mostly Asheninca by blood. In spite of all this, we also realized that this is not the area we want to reach. After decades of influence from the Spanish-speaking culture of Peru, most have adopted their language and have regular contact with believers.
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We heard from Joe that we needed to leave early because of a mudslide that shut down one of the main roads. Since we did not have an invitation to come back, we began to wonder what we would do for our return trip to the Unine. The day before we left, God answered our concerns. The leader of one of the communities upriver, Corientoni, which has a reputation for being hostile after rejecting the Adventist and Catholic missionaries at arrow point, passed through Diamante Azul while we were visiting with Luis Cushi Mariano, our "man of peace." Luis introduced us in Asheninca and explained that we would like to work and stay in Corientoni on our next trip. He agreed and invited us to come! Praise the Lord!
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Without a doubt the Lord guided us every step of the way while I had no clue how we would succeed.
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Prayer Requests:

• The people of Corientoni would honor their invitation to us.
• The Lord would provide us a man of peace in Corientoni.
• Very few people in Corientoni speak Spanish, making communication difficult. Pray that God would teach our tongues to speak Asheninca (I know, this is the third time I have requested this for a new indigenous language).
• Jose loves to talk and has never been in an environment in which he cannot communicate. Pray that the Lord would give him peace and comfort during this trip.
• Pray that we would proclaim the Word boldly!

Praises:

• We have an invitation to a community that is difficult to reach!
• The Lord provided everything we needed on our last trip.
• We had an amazing week of testimonies and fellowship with all of the members of the xtreme team at our general meeting in Arequipa.

Leaving Atalaya

Contact with the Rio Unini is looking good! We arrived yesterday and with the few names of people who might be helpful, have secured permission and transportation to a community on the Unini called Diamante Azul. We met the president of the local indigenous organization today. He is on his way to a neighboring community this afternoon and we will meet him there to get the documents that should help us gain entrance into the community. He is from Diamante Azul and still has a house there that he offered to us. All of this should make for a smooth first contact! Please continue praying for the other requests mentioned in my previous post; we're still just getting started.

From Jeff's parents:
Jeff started this update on January 14,2008 but didn't have the opportunity to post it before leaving. We spoke with him this morning. Diamante Azul is a colony instead of the indigenous community they were expecting. He and Jose are staying in an abandoned house in Azul and make a fifteen minute walk to Cascada, a nearby an indigenous communiity, where they are making contacts and hoping for permission to live. Cascada had an election of a new president yesterday who seems to be more in favor of them staying. They have been visiting with a local man, Luis, who has been very open and receptive. However, he has a small house and seven children which would make it difficult for them to stay with him. If they are unable to stay with a local family they may continue to walk there each day. This is not ideal as they will not be able to share a home and meals while they work beside the local people.

Please pray:
for Jeff and Jose to receive permission to stay in Cascada
a family to stay with in Cascada
a steady supply of food